Let the Games Begin
by Important Cake
Summary: It's been two weeks since the end of the scare games, and Randy's sure he'll never be liked again. When the sudden announcement of an inter-school scare games catches his eye, he jumps at the opportunity to prove himself to his peers - but was it more than what he bargained for?
1. A Possible Second Chance

AN: Hello, everyone, and welcome to my fanfic. I'm honestly not sure how the idea came to me, but I do hope you enjoy it.

The idea for "Yell" is actually a play on Yale, and the idea for that came from savefearow on Monster Board. Thanks!

Anyway, be gentle, please, for I haven't posted fanfiction in a while.

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Two weeks.

That's how long it had been since the end of the scare games. Randy figured the whole "hearts" thing would have blown over by then, or at least have been ignored in favor of the Oozmas cheating and two of their members getting expelled. Every time he walked outside, though, someone always shouted some variation of "Valentine" or "Cupid." It never mattered how well he proved himself in class – everyone seemed to consider him "cute." He hated it, and that was why he mostly stuck to his dorm, and planned to do so for the rest of the year, or even the rest of his college career.

_Mom would understand why I refuse to get a job, right?_ The lizard-like monster wondered as he made his way back to his room, deciding to start on the problems Professor Knight had assigned in the heavy book he carried. _I mean, I told her nobody takes me seriously anymore, and, well... I told her what happened to make everything like that..._

He sighed, then decided to check one of the bulletin boards for jobs anyway. _Maybe someone will hire me for an unseen position,_ he thought as he scanned over the flyers.

Suddenly, a blue one caught his eye – actually, there were quite a few of the same one. They proudly displayed the words"Inter-school Scare Games" in giant bold letters, and he glanced around, then tore one down and slipped it into the pages of his textbook, figuring nobody would miss just one. Feeling confident, he headed back to his room.

Once there, he curled up on his bed and took out the flyer. His green eyes scanned the paper, gleefully taking in all the information there was. It appeared to be hosted by Yell, a Bramble League school. Their scare program was relatively new, but rumor had it that the students there were truly scary. In fact, Randy could recall Johnny talking about how he'd been accepted to go there, but his father had insisted that he go to Monster's University instead. _Huh. Maybe if they're friendly, I could get tips! _

He squinted to read the text at the bottom. _Scare Program Students only. Auditions for the team are all next week, five to nine PM. Management positions also available to be filled._

Randy couldn't help but break into a smile. This would be easy! He had done pretty well in the scare games, and his grades were some of the best!

_Although, they won't be for too long if I don't do my homework,_ he thought as his eyes fell on the textbook. Sighing happily, he grabbed a pencil and started his work, daydreaming of showing off what he had to offer and proving that yes, he was someone to be feared.


	2. Auditions

AN: Eeggh, Knight seems a little OOC here, but... I did my best.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's going to get more exciting soon, I promise.

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Randy sighed, then opened the door to the simulator room, ten minutes early. His heart was pounding... and it appeared that he wasn't the only one there to audition. Two yellow, round faces swung to look at him. The two-horned one frowned, while the single-horned one offered a shy smile. He gulped and went to sit on the other side of the room.

"Boggs! It's good to see you here." Knight said before Randy could make it there. He winced, then looked over at the professor who was handing him a clipboard. "Here. Sign up right beneath the Perrys. We'll start auditions at five, on the dot."

Randy took the clipboard and signed his name, before slinking off to a dark corner. It wasn't long before the doors opened again, and a red, pill-shaped monster with thick glasses wheeled in a cart of scare cans. "Thank you, Fungus." Knight mumbled as the Perrys exchanged a glance. The young monster looked up and said something that sounded like "you're welcome" before sitting down in a seat next to Knight's desk.

One of the Perrys cleared his throat. "Uh, excuse me sir, but the flyer didn't say anything about actual children."

Knight simply chuckled in reply. "That's because there will be none. Those are simulator cans, since we're trying to get as close to an actual scare as possible. Fungus here will be taking the role of your assistant." Randy looked at him, and his three blue eyes flicked back and forth before he nervously waved.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Knight was shuffling through the papers on his desk, and occasionally glanced up as if he were expecting the boys to start a conversation. The entire room was tense, and when the doors suddenly swung open, everyone jumped except for the professor. "Oh, Pearson. I was a bit surprised when you didn't audition with Wheeler."

A loud guffaw boomed through the room. "Yeah, something came up." The large, bird-like monster walked to the front of the room and grabbed the clipboard. "But I'm here now, and that's what counts, right?" He then turned to face the other scare students in the room. "What are you guys doing sitting so far away from each other?" he asked, a goofy smile on his face. "We're all friends here, got that? We've gotta show those snooty Yellers who's boss!"

The room was silent, until the one-horned Perry pumped his fist in the air and released a quick "Whoo!" His brother glared at him, and he sheepishly looked down. Pearson rolled his eyes (though he was still smiling), shrugged, and sat down in the center.

Soon, it was time for the simulations to begin. "Hm. Slow day today." Knight muttered as Fungus rose to set up the station. "Now, you'll notice that this simulator's entrance looks exactly like a door station you'd see on the scare floor. You are to enter only when that red light up there is on." Knight pointed it out. "If you don't, your scare will not be considered." He stared down the students there, then picked up a file. "Okay, Perry and Perry, you're up first." He said as he looked at the file in his hands. "I'm a four-year-old boy with a fear of strangers."

The conjoined twins grinned at each other, then exchanged a high-five with each other as they made their way to position. Randy watched, interested, as they went in and performed their scare, filling the can about two thirds of the way. He also watched as Fungus listened intently to the can, and went to work as soon as the scream stopped flowing. Knight handed him a label and he quickly slapped it on before putting it on the cart. "Now, boys, you just have to do this quick quiz, and then you're free to go." The two nodded and they made their way to the back of the room.

Randy rose to his feet and wandered towards the simulator as a few more students wandered in. He heard a few giggles, and he bit his lip as Knight cleared his throat, silencing them. "Alright, Boggs. I'm a 2-year-old girl with a fear of..." his voice trailed off for a moment."Snakes. Huh. I seem to be giving the easy ones today. Proceed."

Randy grinned, and waited for the light to glow. It flicked open and he flung open the door, cloaking his limbs and fronds to make himself look more serpentine. He crawled to the head of the bed, and slowly rose so that his head was looming over the dummy. The eyes flicked open, and the clicking of gears sounded as it turned to stare at him with its lifeless gaze. He jerked back as it jackknifed upwards and screamed, and he quickly made his retreat. He glanced over at his can, his smile growing as he saw it three-fourths of the way full. Confidently, he made his way back to his seat, grabbing the quiz as he did so.

Oh, how his life would change! He started to think about how it would be as he scribbled down his answers. _I wonder how many friends I'll get! Maybe I'll even get a girlfriend. I hope she's good looking. Oh, and I hope -_

His thoughts were cut short as a very, _very_ loud roar caused him to jump and nearly drop his pencil. Fungus yelped, then went to grab the can with shaky hands. It was almost full. The simulator door swung open, and Pearson came out as if nothing happened. A few monsters clapped, and the bird shook his head. "Naw, it wasn't that good." he said as he grabbed his quiz.

"Aah, Pearson. You're quite the humble one." Knight chuckled. "Alright, DeClaw, you're up next."

It took quite a while to settle Randy's nerves, but once he managed it, he quickly finished his quiz. He handed it to Knight and headed out the door, feeling his confidence slipping away all of a sudden. He wondered how many like Pearson were going to audition, and if that meant he wouldn't make it on the team. The prospect of failing before he even began made him a little sick.

When he arrived at his dorm, he decided to skip homework and go to bed. He didn't know why, since awful thoughts started to fill his head, and he couldn't close his eyes. He ended up staring at the ceiling, thoughts of everything that could go wrong playing over and over in his mind.

_Don't worry_, he tried to tell himself. _It's gonna be fine._


	3. Congrats

AN: Thanks for the great reviews, guys!

In case you're wondering - yes, I do write fast, especially when I'm excited to write something.

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Randy hummed to himself as he strolled through the sweet, warm air. Finals were now over, and it had seemed like the entire campus breathed a collective sigh of relief. It would soon be abuzz, though, about who got that magical black envelope that carried the news of being on the Scare Team.

Three days earlier, the students who had applied for team management positions had gotten theirs. Randy remembered passing by the engineering school and seeing Fungus looking shocked and amazed, staring down at the envelope in his hands. He had a lot cut out for him, and he wondered if the pill-shaped monster could handle it.

From what he'd heard and seen, a few monsters had gotten theirs already. Three out of the four RORs who had applied had received theirs, and Randy had felt a little uneasy when he saw Johnny parading around, showing off the dark paper to whoever passed nearby. He'd shoved it out of his mind, though, because he'd had finals to focus on and an essay to write.

Besides, it made him feel a little better seeing Chet with a look of pride and worry as he watched Johnny brag.

He made his way through the dorm building, intending to kick back and wait for his letter to arrive. As he opened his door, though, his eyes caught sight of a dark patch on the floor before him.

It was the envelope!

Giddy with excitement, he snatched it up and sat on his bed. He stared at it, before deciding to carefully tear it open – maybe he'd want it as a keepsake someday – and lifted out a card. His hands seemed to vibrate as he opened it, and he took a few breaths before beginning to read.

_Mister Randall Boggs -_

_Your scare was considered skillful enough to earn you the honor of representing Monsters University in the first annual National Scare Games. Please report to Mandible Hall for the congratulatory banquet at 5-10 pm. We do hope that you will be attending, and that you will get along with your fellow team mates. No dress clothes are necessary. Please present this at the door._

_After the banquet, please return to your place of residence and prepare for a trip. The event will take place over the summer at Yell University, where you will be staying in one of their empty dorms. All expenses are paid by the Yell School of Scaring, and you may use your leisure time during the games to explore the area off campus._

_Congrats._

His eyes scanned the bottom of the card, where the name _Dean Abigail Hardscrabble_ was written in graceful, curling script. A goofy grin crossed his face and he squealed and did some sort of silly dance in excitement. He was glad he was alone – nobody would ever let him live down_ that_. He then flopped down on his bed, giggling as he decided what to do next.

He chose to call his mom, barely able to contain his excitement as he babbled about his trip to Yell. She was excited too, and kept telling him things like "_I'm so proud of you!"_ and _"That's my boy!"_ She'd also expressed worry about the cost, and he assured her that it was free.

Randy eventually hung up about an hour later, then threw on his MU jacket and paced around his room. "That's right, everyone! Randall Boggs has what it's got!" he said, pretending to show off. "Forget your Worthingtons and your Sullivans! There's a new great scaring family in town!"

He couldn't wait until the banquet, having alternated between watching TV and reading to pass the time. At 4:45 he left his room, still wearing his MU jacket and holding his hand protectively over the pocket where his card sat snugly. On the way there, he caught up with the three JOX who got accepted. Their leader scowled at him, and he flashed a cocky grin as he waved his card towards them. He wasn't expecting the scowl to turn into a surprised grin, and the big red monster gave him a thumbs up. "Look, little guy, if Worthington or any of the RORs start to mess with ya, you come to us, okay?" he said. "We'll keep him away from ya."

"Oh, uh, okay." Randy accepted the help, no matter how unexpected it was. "Thanks, uh... O'Growlahan."

"It's Roy to you. We're on the same team, now!" The rest of the JOX roared in agreement, and they crowded around him and gave him a mix of hugs and handshakes. _Maybe I'll rush these guys next year,_ Randy thought as they went up the steps.

The doors opened, and his eyes took in tiny sandwiches and fancy little cakes, along with salads and soups. The Dean herself stood a good distance away from the food table, conversing with the two Greek Council presidents. A stiff-looking monster approached them and asked for their cards, and the four proudly displayed them. "Yooo, Brocky-boy!" Roy called out, and Pearson whirled around to smile at them.

"Hey, Big Red! Great to see you here!" he shouted, and Randy could see Wheeler rolling her eyes as the dean shook her head. He carefully extracted himself from the JOX. "I'm gonna get some food. I'll come see you later if you're okay with that."

The cyclops nodded at him. "Sure dude. You know what? Just sit near us anyway." Randy smiled at him, before leaving to inspect the food.

He settled on taking two sandwiches, a tiny bit of salad, and a piece of cake, then chose a table for himself. Wheeler came up next to him and sat down, and picked at her own sandwich. "So, uh... congrats." she mumbled, before popping a bit of meat into her mouth.

"Oh, uh... thanks." He focused on his food, not sure of what to say. Soon, the JOX came and sat at their table too as more monsters filed in. He could see Johnny out of the corner of his eye, and the horned monster seemed surprised to see him before rolling his eyes and going to the buffet table. The JOX shifted a little as Pearson came to sit next to Wheeler, their eyes fixed on Worthington for a brief second.

They made simple conversation as the hall slowly filled up. The monsters at his table seemed to accept him. No nasty nicknames were hurled his way, and they didn't bring up the hearts incident at all. For the first time in a while, he felt comfortable around others.

Once almost everyone had eaten their fill, the Dean went to the front of the room and tapped her fork on the glass in her hand. "Attention, everyone!" Her gaze settled over the room, and a few monsters shifted uncomfortably. "You are all here today because you were determined to be the best of who rose to the challenge." A few shouts and cheers rose from the room, and she waited for them to settle before continuing. "One hundred and three of you volunteered, and only 25 of you are here with us tonight." The dean started to wander between the tables, catching the sight of a few monsters who shrank under her glare. "I expect you all to be on your best behavior, and -" a sly smile crossed her lips. " - show Yell that we are the best."

Applause ripped through the room as she went back to her seat. Randy clapped too, though the weight of what he was supposed to do was slowly starting to dawn on him. Later that evening as he left for his dorm again, he wondered what would happen if he made another mistake. He'd probably have to transfer schools, or worse – give up scaring for good.

He shuddered, then stared up at the stars. Figuring he might as well, he wished on one that he wouldn't mess up.


	4. Settling in

AN: UUUUGGGH sorry it's so late you guys! I had a ton of stuff to do, and unfortunately this had to sit on the back burner for a little while.

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Yell.

As Randy stepped off of the bus, he could almost feel how prestigious this school was. Honestly, it looked like what you imagined when you thought "Bramble League" - old-looking buildings with an air that seemed to say, "You'll never be good enough to go here, unless you've got money." The building dedicated to scaring, however, stood out like a sore thumb. It looked much plainer compared to the ones for law and medical students, almost as if it had been dropped in from another place. Inside, however, it had state-of-the-art technology.

"Alright, MU students!" A bright orange monster in a dark purple sweater waved them over, and Randy grabbed his things and went to stand near his team mates. "I'm Jacob Noctsmith, and I'll be the guy you go to if you need anything during your stay. Please, call me Mr. Noctsmith. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll lead you to your dorms."

The students shuffled after him as he led them across the campus. The atmosphere felt so expensive it was almost stifling, and he heard someone he'd met on the bus – Francis, if he recalled correctly - cracking a joke about how he expected to see topiaries shaped like money signs. That caused a giggle to ripple through the group, eliciting the curious stares of a few Yell students as they passed. They were wearing dark purple too, and in their arms were law textbooks. Randy noticed that Johnny caught the eye of one, pause for a moment, then quickly look away. _Huh. Probably a friend of his._

"He's probably thinking about the last money party he had with them." A big, dragon-like monster grumbled, and Randy watched Worthington's back as he did so. He thought he heard him mumble "Can it, Von Blaze."

The dorm room they were to stay in looked like a large mansion. "Ah, it's just like home, isn't it, Worthington?" Roy asked as he walked past Johnny, and the horned monster growled. "Will you guys cut it out with the rich jokes already?"

"Why? I'm sure we've got a whole vault of them!" Art yelled, and about half of the group groaned. "Get it? Vault? Like a bank vault?"

"Well, it didn't make much _cents_, you know." Randy added, producing even more groans and a death glare from Johnny. He was enjoying watching his former leader get annoyed.

"Good thing we've got a whole treasure trove of more!" a girl shouted out. Randy barely remembered her name, but he thought it was Allison.

Johnny rolled his eyes. "I hate you guys!" he shouted, and a few nervous chuckles rose up.

"Well." Mr. Noctsmith said as he looked at them in disapproval. "I can see your team dynamic is _exceptional_." The laughing quickly stopped at that, and someone whispered something about how they were glad the Dean wasn't there to see them."Come along now. I'll show you your rooms."

MU's team was staying on the second floor – above Yell's students, but below Fear Tech. Above Fear Tech were the Scream University's students. Randy had the sneaking suspicion that the first floor rooms were better, even if the room he was placed in was _way_ better than the one he was living in at MU. The beds were more comfortable and actually came with sheets, and there seemed to have air conditioning that he had control over. The window was nice and large, and if he so desired, he could step out onto the roof above the front porch. His floor also had a common room, and Brock was already going around and planning a gathering there that night – never mind that there'd be an opening day party on the next day.

The best part of the room, though, was that he had it all to himself. There was no roommate to get attached to him, to expect him to stick around when he simply couldn't.

Randy sighed happily, then dug out his camera, climbed out onto the roof, and turned his back to the campus. He then smiled widely and took a picture of himself, and heard a girl shout "Whoa, Boggs got the best room!" Grinning, he turned to see three PNKs leaning out of a window. "Smile, ladies!" he said, then took a picture as they waved. "I gotta admit, blue's a good color on all of you!"

Two of them giggled, but Brittney sighed and looked at her MU t-shirt. "Ugh, no. This just clashes with my complexion."

"Aww, I bet you wish you had this!" He morphed to match her shade, and she and her sisters ducked back inside while laughing. Randy laughed too, but was distracted by a knock on his door. Worried that it was some sort of authority figure, he scrambled inside and went to answer it. He was greeted by the three girls, who pushed past him with a camera of their own. "Come on, let's go sit out there!"

He realized that people were going to be charging through his room to get to the "balcony", and that was probably why it had a sort of fence on it's edge. For now, Randy decided to roll with it. He climbed out the window and sat with the girls, talking and taking pictures.

It wasn't long before Noctsmith came by, looked up at them, and shouted, "You're free to stay up there as long as you'd like! We have a lot of art students who like to go there for their landscape studies. Just don't go crazy!"

"Alright! Thank you!" Randy shouted back.

Over the next few minutes, they were joined by Wheeler and Pearson, who looked a bit tired. "Look at you, Boggs, surrounded by beautiful women." Claire said as she stretched. "Ugh, it's good to get some fresh air. That stupid little office they had me filling out paper work in didn't have air conditioning."

"Yeah, whose bright idea was that?" Brock asked her. "I hope Fungus didn't get lost on his way delivering it to administration, that would suck."

"Are you kidding? He'd probably curl up somewhere and cry." Carrie said with a giggle.

Claire rolled her eyes "Lay off on him, alright? He's kind of new to this... interaction thing."

The PNK girls snickered to themselves, then waved Claire over to make conversation with them.

They carried on with talking for the next couple of hours. Randy hardly noticed the dimming daylight until a mosquito bit him. "Oh, gee... we should probably get inside before the bugs eat us alive." he mumbled as he shuffled to his feet. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to get something to eat."

"Dude, I'm gonna get pizza for the party. You just wanna eat that?" Brock asked as he followed Randy into his room.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm not gonna turn down free food, after all." Randy joked, then went to take care of the bug bite, knowing that it would probably mess with his camouflage if it got really bad. Sure, it would be a tiny spot, but that tiny spot could be all it would take to find him, and if the first event involved hiding, he couldn't have that.

He made his way to the common area, where a few monsters were starting to gather. Randy smiled, then felt someone tap him on the back. He looked behind him to see Fungus handing him a card on a lanyard with both hands, his eyes directed slightly away. The lizard took it from him and muttered the word "thanks," leaving the bean-like monster to make a hasty retreat back to his room.

Randy, not knowing what to do, simply put his ID around his neck and waited for the pizza to arrive. He was going to act sociable tonight – the act wouldn't kill him, he decided, and maybe he could fix the rift that was between him and Johnny.

After all, they were meant to be teammates, right?


End file.
